Newspapers in Ivory Coast
According to MATHGENERAL.COM, Ivory Coast is a country located in Africa. Daily newspaper distribution in Ivory Coast is small (16 newspaper excl. Per 1,000 inv., 2000). The only national newspaper is Fraternité Matin (founded in 1964), published in Abidjan and with an edition of about 80,000 copies. The magazine is the body of the governing PDCI. PDCI also publishes the evening newspaper Ivoir ‘Soir (50,000 copies), which focuses on lighter news and sports.
Radio diffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) is the state-owned company for radio and television. The radio (founded in 1962) broadcasts primarily in French, but also in English and local languages. Télévision Ivoirienne (founded in 1963) broadcasts in French in two channels. There are also regional TV programs. In 1991, the state monopoly on the etheric media ceased, and in 1994 the private TV channel Canal Horizon began broadcasting from Abidjan (owned by French Canal Plus). There are 137 radio and 60 TV receivers per 1,000 residents (2000).
Culture
According to ALLUNITCONVERTERS, ethnic and cultural diversity is great in the Ivory Coast. Well-known are the wood-carved masks, which play an important role in cultural rites and ceremonies. The Baulé people have developed a special wood carving art. Wooden sculptures from the Ivory Coast were among the first examples of art from Black Africa exhibited in Europe. The Dan people in the western Ivory Coast make murals with white and red clay on their houses built of clay tile.
Written literature is a late phenomenon and has come to relate partly to the oral tradition’s way of playing associations and partly to Western tradition. The first novels were autobiographical and were written during the 1950s, when criticism of the colonial empire prevailed. Then came works on social and political abuses in the independent Ivory Coast, such as Ahmadou Kourouma’s Les Soleils des indépendances, where the author mixes French with his own native language Malinké.
Werewere Liking, a leading female writer in French-speaking Africa, originally came from Cameroon but emigrated to the Ivory Coast, where tolerance to artistic experimentation was greater. Famous writers include Bernard Dadier, Veronique Tadjo and Marguerite Abouet.
Reggae music is popular in Ivory Coast. Reggae singer Alpha Blondy has used the music to criticize the country’s directors. Reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly, who lives in exile in Mali, also writes socially critical texts. Among the more well-known Ivorian rap artists is Rudy Rudiction and Garba 50. A new star on the rap scene is Bop de Narr, whose name hints at a French legend Bob Denard who has been involved in several coups in the Comoros.
One of the most well-known visual artists Frédéric Bruly Bouabré 1923– 2014, among other things, created 400 pictograms that could be combined into a written language for the bété people. Other famous artists are Tamsir Dia, Jems Robert Koko Bi and Franck Fanny.
Mass Media
Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are guaranteed in the Constitution, but the authorities do not tolerate too critical a review. Many media act as language pipes for political parties. During the war and subsequent crises, the media was accused of stoking ethnic tensions, and in connection with the political turmoil in 2010/2011, the media was used by politicians for propaganda purposes. Although the situation has improved significantly since Alassane Ouattara’s government took office in 2011, opposition media are still subjected to threats and pressure from the authorities.
Journalists run the risk of being harassed and abused by police. State media is under government control. Ahead of the 2015 presidential election, political opponents were spotted in partisan media.
The State National Press Council (CNP), which regulates print media, has often been used to warn journalists, to impose fines or to temporarily shut down open-air newspapers. Defamation laws and prohibitions to present “fake news” or articles that threaten the security of the state limit the freedom of the press.
In 2015, Ivory Coast was ranked 86th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders index of freedom of the press in the country.
Among the largest newspapers is the government-friendly newspaper Fraternité Matin. The FPI party is behind Notre Voie, while Le Nouvea Réveil supports the PDCI party and Le Patriote is the spokesman for President Ouattara’s party RDR (for party descriptions see Political system).
The radio reaches out to most Ivorians. The state-owned radio and TV company RTI broadcasts throughout the country. There are also a number of private radio channels. However, only RTI’s and two private radio stations broadcast across the country. The private channels are not entitled to comment on the political developments in the country in their programs.
In addition, Ivorians can listen to foreign radio stations, such as Radio France Internationale (RFI). To counter hate propaganda in domestic media, in 2005 the UN launched its own radio channel, Onuci FM. In connection with the 2010/2011 conflict, RFI and Onuci were prohibited from broadcasting in Ivory Coast.
The Internet is well developed in regional comparison. In 2014, just over 15 percent of residents had access to the Internet, but the proportion increased as more and more people can connect to the Internet via their mobile phones.
FACTS – MASS MEDIA
Percentage of the population using the internet
47 percent (2018)
Number of mobile subscriptions per 100 residents
135 (2018)
2008
November
The election is postponed again
The presidential election does not go as planned, since voter registration is not complete.
October
Few weapons are handed in
According to a report by the UN Secretary-General on October 1, almost 7,600 former rebels have been demobilized, despite the fact that the rebels themselves speak of over 34,000, but only a few weapons have been submitted. The new defense units agreed in the peace agreement have not been formed.
June
Worried in the north
Violent crows erupt in the north. Behind the turmoil are former rebels, who claim that they did not receive the money they promised in connection with the disarmament and integration program.
May
Disarmament of rebels begins
The rebels begin to disarm. Those who submit weapons receive the equivalent of $ 200 and are offered a program for re-adaptation to civilian life.
April
The presidential election is postponed
The presidential election is postponed from June to November. The authorities are reported to be far behind in the preparations for the elections.
March
High food prices are provoking protests
Unrest breaks out in the cities of Duékoué and Guiglo in the west. In Abidjan, protests are being held against substantial food price increases. One person is killed and dozens injured when security forces intervene against the protesters. The government later promises to temporarily remove taxes on basic commodities such as rice, milk, flour, sugar and fish.
